“Who Do
You Say That I Am?”
(Mt 16:15)
Fr. Francis Nguyen, O.P.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The message
of the Word of God for this 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, can be found
in the question by Our Lord Jesus Christ to Saint Peter and his friends: “Who
do you say that I am?”
Christ also
asks this same question to you and me because we, similar to the apostles, are
Christians, followers of Christ.
We can know
Christ when we read the Holy Bible. It
is in the Holy Bible that the identity of Christ is written. He is the Messiah, the Savior of the world
Whom God sent to save us from sin and death.
Thanks to His sacrifice on the Cross, we are freed from the hands of the
forces of evil, and become children of the Almighty God, and have a share in
the Kingdom of heaven.
We can know
Christ better when we listen to the Church that teaches us what to believe—for
example, that Christ Jesus is true God and true Man, that He is present now and
forever in His Word, in the Sacraments, and in the community united in His
Name, and in each and one of us, His believers.
And the Church also teaches us what to do in order to provide visible
evidences of our faith in Him Who so loved us that He died for us.
Knowing
Christ as the Lord, the Savior, and God Whom the Holy Bible and the Church
teach us always remains the very essential foundation for our faith in Him.
However,
this knowledge from books and other people is of little help until it becomes
personal. In other words, this academic
knowledge of Christ is not much different from that of some important things
and people. Our knowledge of Christ
needs to go down from our head to our heart.
Knowledge of Christ through our mind which reduces Him into a mere
concept, great and praiseworthy though, stays lifeless and useless in terms of
our communion with Him in love and grace.
Therefore,
not only do we need knowledge of Christ to find the Way and the Truth, we also
need love of Christ in order to enter a deep and intimate friendship with Him,
and thus to have the Life that will never end.
“Who do you
say that I am?” means that in your view and feeling and experience who Christ
is, what role He plays in your daily life, what you would choose to be your
vital value when you have only option, one chance.
“Who do you
say that I am?”
Whether or
not you will be wise and strong enough to give the right answer which affects
your life both here on earth and there in heaven depends on how often and how
much you are interested in approaching Christ personally through prayer and
service Him present in the poor, the suffering around you.
“Who do you
say that I am?”
This
remains an open question and a big challenge for you and for me.
In order to
answer this question correctly and completely, our human knowledge, our human
feelings, our human experiences need something more essential and
powerful. We need God’s gift of faith
without which we cannot surpass imperfections and limitations of our human
nature in the face of the identity of Christ Who yesterday, today and forever remains
the same great mystery.
This is the
reason why Christ told Saint Peter after the latter professed his faith:
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly
Father.”
Amen.
